you may have heard of 'the seven year itch' but i am plagued by 'the four-year cycle'. every four years or so, i trip--always on stairs. i usually fall flat on my face in an instant; no time to try to save myself from the fall. the cycle struck today. as i am prone to be victimized by the cycle, i'm always very cautious when walking up stairs--it tends to happen going up rather than going down. at lunch, walking to my car, i fell on some stairs. i'm sure whoever saw me had a good laugh. i just walked away quickly so as not to appear helpless.

i don't know what i was thinking, it just happened. i was fine, then boom! i remember that my hands were in my pockets but i don't remember if i put my hands down to save myself. i probably did at the last second because my hands hurt a little bit, but they had no marks. my left arm hurts a bit so i must have fell more on my arm than my hands. my legs hurt though but my pants looked fine so i thought thought i was fine. soon my legs started to burn so i checked and the right one has a nice skid that's bleeding. instead of just buying lunch, i bought antiseptic as well and was cleaning my wound in the parking lot--very attractive!

the four-year cycle history:
june 2004: ucsc parking structure stairs, upwards
jan/feb 2000: ucsc college 8 stairs, downwards
late 1996/early 1997: ucsc stevenson college stairs, upwards
1990s: i don't recall any other specific falls
december 1989: tokyo subway stairs, upwards